Absolute Lacrosse

UVA has won its season-opening game for the eighth straight season

BALTIMORE – No. 9 Virginia (1-0) manufactured a five-goal third quarter and survived a late rally by No. 7 Loyola (0-1) to win its season-opening game, 13-12, on Saturday afternoon at the Ridley Athletic Complex. Virginia has won its season-opening game for eight straight seasons.

“People who don’t want us to start the season this early will miss games like this,” said Virginia men’s lacrosse head coach Dom Starsia. “We knew that Loyola was never going to go away. I am very proud of our team. We have been through a lot this past week or so. You lose a player of Tanner Scales ability and you have to mix and match the pieces. With the newness we have, starting at the faceoff X and moving back toward the defensive end, it was really hard to anticipate how we were going to react in every situation and I thought we battled the whole game. That is what I am most proud of.”

Scales, a preseason first-team All-American at defense, was lost for the season last week with an injury and all three starters on UVa’s close defense against Loyola made their first collegiate starts (Scott Hooper, Logan Greco and Davi Sacco). Hooper and Greco also made their collegiate debuts.

UVa used a four-goal run in the third quarter to break open a 6-6 game. Greg Coholan scored two of his career-high four goals to start the spurt. Matt Emery scored his first career goal and Zed Williams capped the run on a laser that found its way between the legs of Loyola goalie Pat McEnerney, giving the Cavaliers a 10-6 advantage at the 6:32 mark in the third quarter.

Loyola came roaring back, cutting its deficit to one goal, 12-11, after back-to-back goals by Romar Dennis. The second goal came with 4:30 left in the game and capped a 5-2 run by the Greyhounds. Williams gave UVA just enough breathing room with his unassisted goal with 3:11 left in the contest.

The Greyhounds managed another goal at 2:04 by Zach Herreweyers, but it wasn’t enough. In the final seconds Loyola’s Nikko Pontrello turned the ball over to Virginia with 29 seconds left. Loyola, however, received the ball back on a turnover by UVa goalie Matt Barrett with 13 seconds left. Logan Greco caused a turnover with six seconds left, giving UVa the ball back, but he lost it almost immediately. Pat Frazier picked up the ground ball for Loyola and his desperation shot went high as time expired, securing the win for Virginia.

The game started quickly for Loyola. The Greyhounds did not waste any time, scoring off the opening faceoff. Ryan Fournier picked up the faceoff ground ball from the wing and streaked to the goal seven seconds into the game, giving Loyola an early 1-0 lead. Ryan Tucker put UVa on the board for the first time this season with his unassisted goal at 12:36, tying the score at 1-1.

The first half featured the each team countering with haymakers, as the score was knotted at 6-6 entering the intermission. UVa and Loyola traded goals most of the half until back-to-back scores were tallied by Zed Williams and Joe French. The goal by French gave the Cavaliers a 5-4 lead with 6:50 left in the second quarter.

Loyola reacted quickly, scoring two straight goals of its own, retaking the lead 6-5. Romar Dennis capped the Greyhounds’ run with 4:48 left in the first half. UVA’s Owen Van Arsdale evened the score on a Greg Coholan pass with 3:21 left. In the final seconds of the second quarter Coholan tried to deposit another goal into the cage, but was stuffed by McEnerney, the Loyola goalie.

UVa won the shots battle, 43-38. Loyola won the ground balls (38-27), faceoffs (19-9) and had more turnovers (14-12). Saves were equal, 9-9.

Coholan led UVA with four goals and one assist, while Williams had three goals and two assists. Ryan Lukacovic added two goals and two assists in the winning effort.

Dennis and Herreweyers led Loyola, each scoring three goals in the losing effort.

Virginia returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 14 when No. 16 Drexel comes to Charlottesville. Faceoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

Virginia 3-3-5-2-13
Loyola (Md.) 3-3-2-4-12
Att-3387

Scoring (G-A) – V: Greg Coholan 4-1, Zed Williams 3-2, Ryan Lukacovic 2-2, Ryan Tucker 1-1, Owen Van Arsdale 1-0, Matt Emery 1-0, Joe French 1-0, AJ Fish 0-1, Tyler German 0-1, Carlson Milikin 0-1, Tanner Ottenreit 0-1. L: Romar Dennis 3-0, Zach Herreweyers 3-0, Nikko Pontrello 1-2, Brian Sherlock 1-2, Tyler Albrecht 2-0, Ryan Fournier 2-0, Jordan Germershausen 0-1, Mike Kutzer 0-1.

Goalie Summary – V: Matt Barrett 60 mins. 9 saves 12 goals allowed L: Pat McEnerney 60 mins. 9 saves 13 goals allowed.

Shots: V-43, L-38
Ground Balls: V-27, L-38
Clearing: V-17×21, L-15×16
Faceoffs: V-9, L-19
Penalties: V- 2-1:30, L-2-1:30
EMO: V-0×2, L-0×2

—–
Vincent Briedis
Assistant Athletics Media Relations Director
University of Virginia
295 Massie Road-JPJA / Charlottesville, VA 22904
Email: briedis@virginia.edu
Twitter: @Briedis_UVa
Mobile Phone: (434) 326-3792
Direct Phone: (434) 982-5533
Office Phone: (434) 982-5500
Office Fax: (434) 982-5525
Web: www.VirginiaSports.com

Stylin Strings went on a very special trip for the first day of the spring NCAA lacrosse season. Gerry Byrne and Jon Rodak contacted us on behalf of the men’s lacrosse team to take care of their stringing needs to make sure each player has every opportunity to be consistent and play their best this year.

This was our second attempt to fly out to visit with the team, the first time we were thwarted by a FAA facility fire at Chicago O’Hare airport back at the end of September 2014. The team contacted us again and set up a new departure date on January 10th & 11th of 2015.

This time there was no such incident and T-bird, Dustin, Justin, and Van packed our bags and headed to South Bend, Indiana. We arrived in our rental SUV after a drive from Chicago to shake hands with the players at their team dinner. When we arrived we were greeted with a full spread of Italian food, as we shook hands with the players as well as their head coach, Kevin Corrigan.

After our initial meet and greet, we headed over to the basketball arena with the team and were ushered in to our front row seats to watch No. 8 ranked Notre Dame play No.2 ranked Virginia Cavaliers. At one point in the game a player headed straight into the stands after a ball nearly running us over. The play made it to ESPN and if you were watching you would have seen us trying to help the player up as well as waving to the camera. It was an exciting game however the Irish fell to UVA by a score of 62-56.

After the game was over we were taken up to the illustrious trophy room, which was everything it should be. Display case after display case of the universities accomplishments so overwhelming that they were running out of space for the engraved names of their outstanding student – athletes.

We were up bright and early out of the hotel to enjoy a full complimentary breakfast with the team and to meet Gerry Byrne, assistant coach to the 2014-2015 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team for a rundown of the days’ schedule of activities. After and amazing tour of the campus and a few photo opportunities in front of the spectacular dome, we were off the locker room facilities and practice field.

Head Coach Corrigan gave us a proper introduction and we started analyzing players cradling and shooting motions to see each players overall style to best outfit them with the high end pockets that they will be using this year.

During the break in their practice we joined the team for a lunch catered by Chipotle. Stylin Strings provided the team with a presentation outlining everything we can help them with this year. Each player also received one on one time with our stringers to take notes and testing out a few demos, even a couple games of Ping-Pong. With all of the information we needed, we stopped by their second session of practice so the players could use the demos on field and to finalize the process of making sure every player has the highest quality pocket possible.

We want to thank coaches Kevin Corrigan and Gerry Byrne as well as John Rodak and the entire Notre Dame Lacrosse organization for the hospitality, and we look forward to our new partnership and helping the team to play the best lacrosse possible this year.

Check out stylinstrings.comand see what the best are using!

February 6, 2015

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team will welcome No. 3 Duke, the two-time defending national champions, to Vert Stadium on Saturday at noon.

Last Time Out:

HPU opened the NCAA lacrosse season in style with a 15-10 win over Delaware on Feb. 1 in Vert Stadium. The Panthers and the Blue Hens went back and forth in the first half, but three third-quarter goals by junior Dan Lomas helped spark a 4-1 period to help HPU take control on the contest.

Junior Matt Thistle posted a career high and tied the program record with seven points (5g, 2a) to lead the Purple & White’s offensive attack. Lomas also had five goals and added an assist en route to a six-point outing.

Sophomore Cole Carns gave the Panthers three players with a hat trick after scoring three goals. Sophomore Michael LeClair added a goal and two assists for the well-rounded HPU offense against the Blue Hens. Junior Brad James added a goal and redshirt-junior Tyler Cook tallied an assist.

Junior Jamie Piluso gave the Panthers control of the second half, winning 10-of-13 face-offs after halftime. The Ridgewood, N.J. native went 18-of-28 (64 percent) for the game and grabbed seven ground balls. Junior Adam Seal led the team with nine ground balls as HPU earned a +11 (30-19) margin in ground balls.

Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Austin Geisler racked up 13 saves while redshirt-junior Zack Price caused two turnovers and registered two ground balls.

The victory gave the Panthers their first 1-0 start in the program’s three-year history.

The Opponent:

The Blue Devils will begin their title defense at High Point on Saturday. The team returns four starters from last season’s squad that ran through the 2014 NCAA Tournament and finished the year with a 17-3 record.

The midfield is the strength of Duke’s roster. Juniors Myles Jones and Deemer Class are back after earning All-American status in 2014. Class was second on the team last season with 65 points (38g, 27a) while Jones posted 63 points (37g, 26a). Junior Will Haus didn’t start in the midfield last year, but is the team’s top returner in ground balls (44) and also chipped in with 11 goals in 2014.

Slowing the midfielders will be key for the Panthers since the Blue Devils will be breaking in several new players on the attack. The squad must replace Jordan Wolf who finished fourth in the nation in scoring and fellow 2014 seniors Josh Dionne and Christian Walsh who scored a combined 104 points. Junior Case Matheis is the top returning attackman after registering 42 points (23g, 19a) last season.

The Blue Devils will have to replace their starting defensemen as well in 2015. However, the team does return junior Luke Aaron at goalkeeper. In leading the team to the national title, Aaron posted a .505 save percentage and allowed just 9.92 goals per game while earning a 15-3 record.

Panthers Notes:
• Saturday is the first meeting ever between the Panthers and the Blue Devils.

• Dan Lomas, Matt Thistle and Michael LeClair combined to score 125 points last season. That makes them the nation’s fourth highest scoring returning trio.

• Dan Lomas has the third longest goal-scoring streak in the nation with one goal in each of his last 18 games.

• Matt Thistle led the A-Sun with 53 points after dishing out 36 assists and 17 goals in 2014. His 36 assists also led the A-Sun.

• Dan Lomas and Matt Thistle were joined by sophomore Cole Carns as the three Panthers to score a hat trick against Delaware.

• The Panthers boasted both Atlantic Sun players of the year last year as redshirt-senior Austin Geisler took A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year honors and junior Dan Lomas was awarded the A-Sun Offensive Player of the Year.

• Senior defenseman Pat Farrell and redshirt-senior goalkeeper Austin Geisler each heard their name called in the 2015 Major League Lacrosse Draft. The Florida Launch took Geisler with the fourth pick in the seventh round right after the Ohio Machine tabbed Farrell with the second pick in the seventh round The duo were the first two draft picks in HPU’s history.

Next Up:
The Purple & White has a quick turnaround and travels the Chapel Hill on Tuesday to take on No. 6 North Carolina at 4:00 p.m.

#GoHPU

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The #16/18 Lehigh men’s lacrosse team opens the 2015 season on Saturday when the Mountain Hawks host Marquette at 12 p.m. This marks the second straight season featuring Marquette as Lehigh’s home-opening opponent. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 2014 season which saw them advance to their third straight Patriot League Championship Game while the Golden Eagles enjoyed a strong 4-2 Big East record to earn the #2 seed in their conference tournament.

Lehigh is led by a pair of senior All-Americans at attack (Dan Taylor) and in goal (Matt Poillon). Taylor emerged as one of the nation’s leading attackmen last season, finishing with 76 points, tops in the Patriot League and #7 in the nation. Meanwhile, Poillon has been named an honorable mention All-American each of his three seasons and is an Inside Lacrosse preseason All-American this year. Seniors make up the core at the other positions as Kurtis Kaunas spearheads the midfield and Lukas Mikelinich is the quarterback of the defense. Kaunas enjoyed a breakout season in 2014, earning All-League honors, while Mikelinich tallied career highs in groundballs and caused turnovers last year.

The Mountain Hawks were up-and-down in 2014, but in the end, finished with 13 wins – just one shy of a school record. Lehigh finished 6-2 in the Patriot League then defeated Navy and Army in the league tournament to make it back to the championship game and just 60 minutes from another NCAA Tournament berth. The team earned a hard-fought and thrilling win over Army in the Patriot League Semifinals as junior Reid Weber scored the game-winning goal with just 3.7 seconds remaining for the 12-11 victory.

The Mountain Hawks are 39-13 over their last three seasons as Lehigh looks to continue the momentum in 2015. Lehigh has won five straight season openers, which includes a 13-6 win at Furman to begin last year. The Mountain Hawks followed by hosting Marquette in their home opener, also a 13-6 victory.

Lehigh begins its season by hosting Marquette, traveling to Furman and hosting Boston University before a big early-season rematch of the Patriot League Championship Game, at Loyola on Feb. 28. An impressive schedule features home games against nationally-ranked caliber opponents Bucknell, Denver, Army and Princeton, Denver is the preseason #1 team in the nation in all major polls.

The Mountain Hawks are looking to win their sixth straight season opener on Saturday and their fourth home-opening win in their last five tries. Lehigh has won four straight games against the Big East. The Mountain Hawks were 3-0 against the Big East last season (Marquette, Villanova and Georgetown) while beating Villanova in 2013. Lehigh lost to Denver (currently in the Big East) in 2013, but the Pioneers were in the ECAC at the time.

Marquette enjoyed a strong second season of lacrosse, finishing 2014 with a 6-10 record and 4-2 mark in the Big East. The Golden Eagles picked up some big conference wins over St. John’s and Georgetown, also beating Rutgers and Providence. The team’s four conference wins came by a combined four goals, including the St. John’s and Georgetown victories in overtime. Marquette also hung tough in the Big East Tournament, dropping a 9-6 final to Villanova. The Golden Eagles lose their top two and three of their top four scorers, including Tyler Melnyk who finished 2014 with 51 points via 36 goals and 15 assists. Conor Gately is the team’s top returning scorer after tallying 17 goals and 14 assists last season. Jacob Richard led the team with 46 groundballs and does return, as does Jimmy Danaher, who saw the majority of time in goal. He posted an 11.13 GAA and .466 save percentage in 2014.

Lehigh won the only meeting between the two teams, a 13-6 victory last season. Tied at two in the first quarter, the Mountain Hawks scored 11 of the next 13 goals to create separation. Taylor had four points in that game (two goals, two assists) while Poillon stopped nine-of-15 shots sent his way.

Lehigh hits the road next Saturday when the Mountain Hawks play at Furman. Opening faceoff is set for 11 a.m.

Like Lehigh men’s lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.

–
Justin Lafleur
Lehigh University Athletics
Assistant Director, Sports Media Relations
Men’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer, Field Hockey, M&W Lacrosse, Rowing
641 Taylor Street
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Office: (610) 758-6631
Email: jul310@lehigh.edu
Lehighsports.com

2/5/2015 2:23:00 PM

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Media Relations

Kelsey Yenco is proud of her heritage. In fact, her Lehighsports.com bio has listed Italy as the place she’d like to visit.

She can now cross that off her bucket list.

Over this past winter break, Yenco traveled to Italy as part of a senior training pool trip, among those eligible for Italy’s national lacrosse program. It was an experience that culminated a love for lacrosse, a love for her heritage and a desire to travel abroad, all into one unforgettable ten-day experience. In the process, Kelsey helped grow the sport she loves.

“I think everybody is proud of where they come from, proud of their background and proud of their culture,” said Yenco. “Being Italian is a big part of who I am. Big family dinners and other Italian customs were big aspects of childhood. Experiencing that Italian culture has always been something I’ve wanted to do.”

Kelsey’s chance came when the coaches asked 24 individuals to travel to Rome. In early September, she found out she was invited before receiving a detailed itinerary in December.

The trip had many purposes, not only to identity some of the best talent for the country’s initial women’s national team, but also to grow the game of lacrosse.

“We met with Italian players every morning and played lacrosse with them. We ran a bunch of clinic-type drills to teach them skills they could take back to their teams all around Italy,” said Yenco. “Lacrosse is fairly new to all these girls. A lot of them only started playing because they took trips abroad to the United States, saw the game and became interested.”

The number of organized lacrosse teams in Italy is very minimal, so the 24 individuals on the senior training trip made a significant impact. One goal of the trip was to assess the Italians’ skill level while teaching and showing them ways to improve.

“It was a great opportunity to bring the game that I love over to people who have an appetite to learn,” said Yenco. “It wasn’t only to grow the game for the girls we taught, but to also grow the game in the country as a whole. When we were wearing something that said Italia Lacrosse, people asked us countless times on the subway or while walking, ‘what is lacrosse?’ It wasn’t just Italians who asked us. We had French tourists ask as well.

“It was interesting to meet people who have no idea about the sport, all the while it’s something we’ve been playing for 10-12 years now,” Kelsey continued. “Lacrosse is the fastest-growing sport in America. The hope is to grow the game abroad as well.”

The players on the trip featured a talented group, with ages ranging from high school to collegiate and post collegiate. The group didn’t only play with Italian players. Their last two days, they even scrimmaged people from Austria, Switzerland and Germany, so they helped teach the sport to individuals beyond Italy.

Yenco has hopes and aspirations to make Italy’s first-ever national team, but that wasn’t the biggest takeaway from the trip. Regardless of the outcome (making the team or not), she will have a lot of positives to fall back on.

The trip helped Kelsey prepare for the upcoming college season, training with other players in similar situations.

“A lot of times over winter break, you don’t have the opportunity to really play,” said Yenco. “I had the chance to go over to Europe and have almost a study abroad experience which I haven’t done in my four years here.”

“There are so many fabulous opportunities to study and play abroad during semester breaks,” said Lehigh head coach Jill Redfern. “We are very excited that Kelsey took advantage of this travel opportunity. We always encourage summer and break opportunities for our student-athletes.”

Off the field, Yenco was able to meet some Italian family members for the first time, some relatives from her father’s side of the family that she had never met.

“I was able to learn more about the Italian culture,” she said. “There was a language barrier, but one of the adults and one of the children spoke English. Very little, but their eagerness to use English and talk to me was really sweet. It made me want to go back, spend more time with them and learn their language so I can communicate better.”

Lacrosse has been good to Kelsey; it’s helped her gain a tremendous opportunity at a prestigious institution like Lehigh and it led her overseas for an enriching experience. She isn’t taking anything for granted, however, and is giving back to the game any chance she gets.

One way Yenco’s growing the game is as an assistant coach for high school players through Tri State Lacrosse Club.

“Tri State Lacrosse Club is in Wayne New Jersey, but they practice all over North Jersey and have a Pennsylvania team,” she said. “We run clinics, winter leagues and summer leagues, all to keep girls in shape so they continue to get better for their high school seasons and potential college careers.”

Kelsey also works for Goal Guardian, which is a goalie combine, measuring skill sets, athletic ability and personality. The objective is to give NCAA coaches a more precise measuring stick for the goalies they’re interested in recruiting.

Personally, Yenco credits a long list of people who’ve helped her get to where she is today, a senior and veteran member of a Division I Lacrosse program. Her father was one of her biggest influences. He played college lacrosse at Kean University and signed Kelsey up for lacrosse when she was in the fourth grade.

“I fell in love with the sport right away and jumped at every opportunity to play,” said Kelsey. “I played in my back yard, I played youth then I joined a club team in middle school. That’s when I got more serious and decided I wanted to play at a higher level. I have a lot of people, between my high school coach and the club programs that I work for now, who have really pushed me and helped me train since day one.”

Now, Kelsey is giving back and helping grow the game in several different ways. Her training trip is the latest example. Making Italy’s national team would just be an added bonus from the trip. For Italy, hopes are to create a team for this summer’s European Cup, along with the World Cup in 2017.

“The opportunity to play for a national team is in a lot of athletes’ goals and dreams,” said Yenco. “I would love to play for Team USA, but the chance to represent another country, where it’s so new, is an exciting venture. I have that pride, background and love for Italy. It’s something I’d love to show if I had the chance to represent the country on a bigger stage.”

–
Justin Lafleur
Lehigh University Athletics
Assistant Director, Sports Media Relations
Men’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer, Field Hockey, M&W Lacrosse, Rowing
641 Taylor Street
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Office: (610) 758-6631
Email: jul310@lehigh.edu
Lehighsports.com

When the Ghost shaft by Wolf Athletics hit YouTube the entire lacrosse community freaked out. The shaft was clear it bent and took a beating and was a crazy shaft all around, every one has joked about a clear shaft but they actually did it. The shaft is pretty crazy all around being made from bullet proof glass as they advertise and definitely creates a unique feel when playing. We set our Ghost Glo Shaft up with the Epoch Hawk and saw how it performed.

Shape 7.5 out of 10

The Ghost shaft brings back a old shape on shafts very similar to the old Brine Powergrip. This grip wasn’t very popular with advanced players when it was out due to the ridges making it slightly awkward in your hands. The shape does create a few very good points for the Ghost in that it has very little contacted surface area during a check allowing it to take very little damage from a check and yet leave a mark when throwing a check. Overall the power grip on the Ghost is not to my preference but has its uses 7.5 out of 10

Grip 8 out of 10

Sort of slippery the Ghost shaft definitely needs a little tape on the end cap almost making a grip handle but it does allow for easy movement of your hands. Being made of a different material creates a feel that is unusual and requires a little getting used to but with the power grip shape you can still get a decent hold on the shaft when dodging and looking to shoot. Overall a little tape and the grip on the Ghost is pretty great 8 out of 10.

Durability 10 out of 10

We’ve all seen the video of the shaft wrapping around poles and goal posts, it holds up. The Ghost takes a beating and keeps rolling with very little issue. I think after several hard checks received and thrown we only had one mark on the shaft and we had to look for it. The Ghost pretty well bends its way out of any form of damage earning it a 10 out of 10.

Flex 7 out of 10

I don’t normally include shafts flex into a review but the Ghost is meant to flex so this time I think it is deserved. The Ghost has crazy flex, as shown in the video, and it takes some work to really get used to. You feel the bend when you cradle, pass or shoot which is really kind of awkward and after some practice has advantages and disadvantages.

When taking slower placement shots the bend is less noticeable but creates an unreadable release on the ball, this factor aggravated the goalies we played with because there was just no way to tell where the ball was going or when so this is a definite positive. The checks, oh man the checks, they hurt when they connect. There is no reason to put any hard force into a check because the Ghost will snap down and remind your opponent that you’re going to get their stick, normally very quickly. Wrap checks with the Ghost are just unfair because there is no place that a stick is safe once the flex begins and the finish is just awesome when it connects and sends a stick flying.

As shown in the video this is not a power shooters shaft. When you crank up the flex is so severe that it can actually cause the ball to never get anywhere near to the goal. Clearing and hard feeds have the same issue often skyrocketing into the air. Cradling can some times lead to unfortunate drops as your hands get lower to shoot because the ball will bend the shaft throwing off the force that holds it in the pocket.
Overall the flex on the Ghost lends itself to a Dmid position that is looking to throw a good check but isn’t you’re atypical go to goal crank shooter 7 out of 10.

Looks 10 out of 10

Again the Ghost is supposed to look cool and that is why I am counting their looks in their score. The shaft is fully customizable, you can slide anything into it and create your own custom shaft. The Glo shaft is just insanely cool looking and when the light hits it the image is just too cool. Everywhere you go with a Ghost shaft someone will ask about it and pictures and video do definitely stand out. The guys over at Wolf Athletics have got the awesome factor down for the first clear shaft out there.

Overall 8.5 out of 10

My goto gamer? No. But a fun shaft for summer ball, pickup, and maybe some Box yeah. The Ghost is a cool shaft and it has some awesome factors and some drawbacks like any shaft if you are someone looking for a fun shaft to pick up and something that looks a little different definitely pick up a Ghost, as a coach it keeps my players attention so it’s staying around for me 8.5 out of 10.

The DYG Rep It is a unique tool that can be useful especially for younger players. We all should hit the wall but it can be monotonous and keeping track can be a pain since most of us just pop in some ear buds and hit the wall. How do you know if you are improving or pushing your limit without counting your reps though? With the Rep It you can keep track without giving your count a second thought.

Like the Max It just using the strap wrapped around your shaft to attach the Rep It and start hitting the wall. The Rep It is incredibly sensitive so it records both the release and the catch of the ball, if you have an odd number you definitely missed a couple. Hit the wall fast and keep track of your Reps then divide by 2 to get a total of how many times you hit the wall and caught the ball.

This may not be the most necessary tool in a players arsenal but for younger players or those of us who hit the wall with other things on our mind, I.e. almost every player out there, the Rep It lets you keep track of your progress and not just lazy day your way through a wall ball session.

The Rep It comes in at $29.99 and could be a good accessory to players looking to Discover Their Game.

The DYG LZR Shot is the first of its kind training tool designed to work on fundamental passing and shooting. By putting a high power laser pointer in an end cap players can see when they are getting their elbows up and pointing to where they are throwing. Though the LZR Shot is not meant to make your shot harder it is meant to improve your feeding which is arguably more important.

Installing the LZR shot is pretty simple as long as you have a standard metal shaft. Remove the regular end cap place the LZR Shot device into the hollow end cap provided and slide into the handle. The actual laser part of the device locks the end cap into place and keeps it from flying off while working on the wall. Simply turn on the LZR Shot and begin hitting the wall. By setting up your body getting your elbows high and pointing the shaft where the ball is desired to go you can work slowly at making sure you are directing your passes flawlessly to their intended target. The LZR Shot may not be the most used tool in your bag but fundamentals are good for any player to practice at least once a week and for younger players getting the elbows up and following through a good pass is one of the hardest things to master.

The LZR Shot is recommended more for the entry level to intermediate player but could still benefit even advanced players in their training regiment.

The guys over at DYG are always thinking outside the box to improve every players game. When it comes to the DYG Locke they have done so by perfecting what many companies have tried and despite great efforts for sure have failed at. DYG has created a weighting system for your shaft that is easily adjusted, high and low weight, that fits any standard metal shaft and head combo from most any company (we tried Warrior, Epoch, Brine, STX and Maverik heads and all worked). Adding weight to your shaft in a manner that does not damage the head and allows for adjustment without messing with the playability of a stick is no small feat and should definitely be given a shot.

BENEFITS TO OFFENSIVE PLAYERS

The benefit of high shot speed is obvious for offensive players and the Locke does not disappoint as a trainer for shooting in any manner as players can easily pop it in do some reps with the Locke each day and then pop it back out with the screw provided but there are other uses that I feel are even more important.
Being able to shoot hard is great but what happens when you can’t get free to take that shot. Dodging with a weighted handle improves the speed of your dodge but also the confidence in which you can do your dodges. Face dodges, toe drags, and split dodges can go really wrong if they are done slow, without force behind them or without the speed and strength to bring the stick back up for the shot you are just asking for a turnover. Dodging with the Locke in place allows you to build the forearm strength and muscle memory to perform these dodges at an elite level and fight off the checks that come with them.

Let’s not forget the creative aspect of the game that has really come to the forefront with the Thompsons over the past couple of years. Many times dodges go wrong, defenseman can’t be shook or traditional methods just become too predictable. That’s when it’s time to get fancy and with the Locke you can build up your forearms in order to make that one handed dangle pass or shovel shot go from a slow roll gb into a forceful feed that makes the coach go, “Alright do what you do.” The Locke really does have infinite uses for the offensive player.

BENEFITS TO THE DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Every DPole needs fast hands and strong checks, the Locke perfects both. By adding weight to the end of your long pole and working on checks your hands immediately become faster once the weight is removed. Through more and harder checks in great places and you can really throw your attackman off his game. He’s dipping his stick and you go for a good Ding Dong Style over the head (Thanks STX for the term) but your hands are too slow to make this a highlight? Practice 15 minutes a day with the Locke and next time your check is a highlight reel for you and an embarrassment for your opponent. Are your poke checks light nuisances to anyone you use them on? Add some weight put in good 15 minute practice for a week or two and one check yard saling attackmen on the regular. In short DPoles you want this to go next level.
Dodging with a pole is a must at the elite level and just as the benefits to dodging apply to offensive players they do as well for long poles as well. The biggest factor on a dodge that stands out for a DPole that the Locke improves though is walking the dog. Getting the pole out and away from the ride takes strength to maneuver and practicing with just the standard weight leaves this at a difficult task that is slow and not regularly covered in practices. With the Locke you can reduce your time to be able to walk it around attackmen to just weeks and get to looking like an intimidator with PopEye forearms in no time.

BENEFITS FOR GOALIES

Thought I’d leave the goalies out I bet? Nope the Locke helps out the linchpin to your team as well. Hands a little slow? Add the Locke. Clears always coming up short? Add the Locke. Dodges super weak when leaving the crease? Come on now add the LOCKE. In every way the Locke can thoroughly help a goalie improve to be a more complete player that will stand out at the higher level of play. DYG has really developed first of its kind products that have perfected goalie training so if you have a goalie in your home or are a coach do yourself a favor and pick up their tools to make their life and your life easier and better.

CONCLUSION

There just is no end to the benefit of the Locke every program can use one, every player can assemble one, every position is benefitted by one. At $34.99 it is cheaper than alternative products from when I was working in a store, most ranged around $50, and it has no negative affect on your stick’s durability do your game a favor and pick up a Locke.

The guys over at Discover Your Game have created some amazing products that allow players to train on their own and in groups in ways that develop good habits or break old bad ones. Their flagship product the Throttle Pro is a monster device adjustable quickly to any size and any player to work on shooting and passing correctly. The Throttle Lite is the perfect little brother to the Throttle Pro both in price and size. Where the Throttle does take up space and is quite heavy the Throttle Lite weighs near nothing and gets the job done as well just in a different way.

The full size Throttle Pro utilizes a full heavy weight base and a set dual break away system where the Throttle Lite uses any sturdy upright object such as a tree or in our case a telephone pole (we did use a second goal that had a destroyed net and had some success with our U9 girls program as well) and a compressed breakaway system that still removes the fear of a broken stick while providing versatility.

The Throttle Lite is intended for the youth player and is very easy to set up placing it over your shoulder and using the buckles to tighten down to the post. Once reasonably tightened you adjust the height to line up with the throat of your stick as shown in the Throttle Pro review, tighten the straps fully, and begin shooting. The buckles on these straps lock down automatically and hold up to a hard shot without loosening which is great.

The Throttle Lite even has a lighter price tag, making it a very affordable and invaluable tool. Just like the Throttle Pro I involved one of our Blue Skies players who within about 10 minutes showed significant improvement in both his right and left hand. Aiden started lacrosse in the Box game in New York where keeping your hands and arms tight is a key to success but in the field game isn’t great for a longer shot on the larger net. By working with the Throttle Lite we were able to improve Aiden’s effective range from primarily inside shots to a more versatile 10 yards for a U11 player that’s not bad.

The Throttle Lite is a perfect pick up for any parent looking for a great trainer to accompany their players goal or coach looking to take their team to the next level on a budget.